Blog Archive

26 Mar 2015

When’s the last time you performed a Deadlift? When’s the last time you picked something up off the floor? Yesterday we got a chance to do Deadlifts and Rowing. I wanted to use my post today to highlight some of the similarities between the two and what I think about when performing both movements.

First things first, anytime you pick something up you should be deadlifting, because that’s what a deadlift is. It’s the strongest, most efficient, most powerful way to pick something up off the floor.

I believe that if you can learn to hip hinge and deadlift correctly you can and will become a better rower. The key is how you deadlift and what you focus on.

Take a look at my hip hinge and deadlift above. What parts of the deadlift can we tie to the rowing stroke? I always teach the skills of 1. Posture, 2. Control, and 3. Connection whether it’s rowing or weightlifting.

1. Posture – How am I doing at maintaining a solid brace through my torso? Is there any movement within the vertebrae of the spine?

2. Control – Is the bar traveling in a straight line over the middle of my foot? Am I in control of my body and the bar? Can I stop at any point in time and be in a strong position?

3. Connection – How am I connected to the bar? How am I connected to the floor? Are my hips, hands, and shoulders connected when the bar is below the knee?

After taking a look and answering some of these questions, think about your own rowing stroke. In the front end of your stroke, from 1/2 slide up to the catch and back, how do your joints move in relation to one another and what does your body angle look like? Does it stay the same? When does your body start to swing open? Do you feel or see any similarities when you deadlift and row back to back? Can perfecting one movement help improve the other?

Please share your thoughts to comments and checkout RenegadeRowing.com for more content on rowing and lifting.

17 Sep 2014

Hope you’re having an awesome week of training! Here’s my second video blog on the Level II Pistol Programming. If you have any questions please post to comments or catch me in the gym.

Be sure to scale appropriately for your ability and master whatever level of the program you are on. If you don’t know you’re ability or what it means to master each movement, come find me and I’ll help you out.

11 Sep 2014

Hope you’re pumped up for Friday and the weekend! Here is a little video blog I put together to explain the Level I Programming for the Pistol Work you should be doing on Thursdays after class. If you have any questions or would like some help figuring out the program please get in touch and we’ll get you set up.

Have a great weekend!

Coach Pat

30 Jul 2014

The video above is from a leader in backs and biomechanics, Dr. Stuart M. McGill. I first read about Dr. McGill’s work a few years ago and was awakened to it again last month at a movement seminar called The Movement Fix. Are sit-ups or any movement that put’s your lower back through repeated repetitions of extension and flexion really necessary?

Are Sit Ups Bad For Your Back?

Yes, Sit Ups are bad for your back. What? Yes, think of your back, especially your lumbar spine (low back), as a credit card. You can only bend that credit card forward and backward so many times before eventually it snaps. Sit Ups put excessive compressive loading on your spinal discs and can easily lead to disc bulge and disc herniation.

Rowers with no posture or core support end up bending from their lower back rather than pivoting from the hips, which leads to all the horror stories of slipped discs in rowing. This also shows up during any movement that involves a deadlift when athletes aren’t focused on maintaining good posture. In rowing, different coaches may or may not have you reach from the thoracic spine, but a common theme that any coach will agree with is keeping the lumbar region stiff, supported, and protected. The muscles that surround and support the spine are made to brace and resist motion, not create it.

Core Stability!

Without core stability it is impossible to transfer the force from your legs to the oar/barbell and move the boat/load at any type of speed. This idea of core stability and the ability to connect your feet to your hands through the core is a skill needed in life and fitness as well. There is no way to do an Olympic Lift like the Clean without having a solid core to work from.

After reflecting on this topic for a couple of years, I’ve decided to eliminate sit ups and other similar movements from my training. Sure I will compete and perform sit ups, but I don’t need them to train day in and day out. I like my back to much. Instead I’ve been playing around with paleo crawls, planks, bird dogs, and curl ups on a regular basis.

If you’d like to chat about this topic or would like to know what I’ve been doing for core stability let me know. I hope this sparks some thought and further questions. Have an awesome end of the week CFB

28 Mar 2014

This is the final week of the 2104 CrossFit Games Open 14.5. What a great workout to finish it off with. Two low skill movements that just require you to have an engine! I love it! I mean I hate it because I am 6’3″ 240 pounds and that is A LOT of mass to move up and down for 84 reps, but hey it is what it is!

It’s still a little early but our very own Carla B is sitting nicely in 34th for the Northeast Region. She has been busting her butt all year and it is paying off for her. This workout plays to her strengths as she can go and go and go! If you see her in the gym today or over the weekend let her know that you are rooting for her to kill it!

We will be setting up a tent at Regionals for members that wish to head down and cheer. We will keep you posted as the date draws near.

SPRING FLING

This Saturday, tomorrow, beginning at 6pm is our Spring Fling at Daedalus in Harvard Square. The 2014 Transformation Challenge winner will be announced and it will be an opportunity to kick back, celebrate the end of the Open season, and welcome Spring into Boston. Be sure to come on by!

PROGRAMMING

Strength work continues in our programming along with a continued emphasis on strengthening the midline as well. You will notice in this weeks programming there is AB work to be completed on your own outside of the class. Don’t skip it. It is important and it will help you in the WOD and the rest of your training.

PR Friday is back! Each Friday there will either be a benchmark WOD or we will attempt to PR a lift. Get excited and set your hair on fire!

Both Partners must complete the workout in its entirety. Only one person working at a time and you may alternate in any fashion you wish. Neither partner can move on the next movement until both have completed the preceding movement.

2. Post Class ABS – 20 Ball ups (STRICT)

Monday – 3/31

1. Heaving Snatch Balance – work up to a heavy single, then drop to 90% of that weight and perform 6 more sets at that weight.

2. EMOM 125 Burpees1 Snatch, 165#/115#

3. POST CLASS ABS – 15 STRICT BACK EXTENSIONS (3-1-3) TEMPO

Tuesday – 4/1

1. Shoulder Press – 3 x 3 – work up to a heavy 3 and perform a total of 3 sets at this weight. Do not drop

29 Oct 2013

I just wanted to pass on this video I just watched about opening up your hips. If you frequently have lower back or hip pain, give these drills a shot and see how much better you feel. Remember that you may not see dramatic results immediately, but with continued application of these drills, you will notice a reduction in pain and tightness.

16 Oct 2013

It’s been said that Rowing Is Passion! Rowing as a sport has been exploding over the last couple of years. You’ve seen it here in our very own gym. Do you know any other CrossFit gym that has 16 ergs at its disposal? I’ve been in touch with many followers of the Renegade Rowing WOD as well as athletes and gym owners who have started their own rowing clubs. They all have found passion in the hard work, power, and grace that it takes to row. Have you thought about joining the Renegade Rowing Club? We will be starting it up again this November and training for CRASH-B’s – The Indoor Rowing World Championships held here in Boston every February.

How do you incorporate rowing into your everyday training and what makes you passionate about this amazing sport?

Renegade Rowing was lucky enough to be interviewed by Alexa Pozniak of Boston.com for a video and article on why rowing can be such a great fitness tool and how local rowers are training for the Head of the Charles. Having the opportunity to spread my knowledge and passion for the sport with the athletes of Wayland-Weston Crew, Boston College Men’s Crew, CrossFit Boston, and followers of Renegade Rowing is what I live for. Seeing all of you improve and find passion in rowing is what it’s all about. Please checkout and share this video and article with your friends and get in touch with me, [email protected], if you’re interested in the Renegade Rowing Club.

18 Sep 2013

Every day you go to work there is a team of people you work with. Every day you go to the gym there is a team of people holding you accountable and pushing you. Every day you go home there is a team there to support you and love you. Recognize your team. Support them by working as hard as you can every single second of the day and you’ll make them better.

Fall is here. Set a goal, whether it’s a competition or a benchmark, and let’s get after it. Here is a little video of the Renegade Rowing Team.

After 8 weeks of training, they learned to row together and push themselves to a third place finish at the Rumble on the River last Sunday. If you’d like to attack your goals and have an awesome team to help you get there, come check out Renegade Rowing – either Online or in Boston!